by Adriana Law
Phenobarbital? Why did that sound familiar? She chewed on the inside of her cheek, searching her memory. She sat the prescription bottle on the dresser and immediately went to her room to Google the drug. She skimmed the page until she came across exactly what she was searching for.
She found her father sitting at the kitchen table. His back was to her as she entered the room, across from him was Chase. The room smelled of freshly brewed coffee and cigarettes an odd combination, like peanut butter and jelly. Both she liked.
Was Chase aware the game he was playing was near its end? No one can juggle lies forever without eventually being caught in their own web of deception—rules of the universe.
“It may take a little time, but ….” Her father’s words tapered off. “Morning honey, did you sleep well?”
Chase crossed his arms over his chest, his grin just as charming as always. No, he was clueless as sly fox staring down the barrel of a loaded shot gun. He had no idea how his make-believe world was about to get rocked.
She came forward and sneered at him. It felt wonderful to be right. In her hands she held the proof that would change everything. She slapped the paper in her hands down on the table in front of her father, all the while holding her enemies gaze. “Read it.” She ordered tapping the page with a nail. “Read what’s highlighted.”
Her father took a slow swallow from the coffee mug in his hand; he then leaned forward, squinting at the fine print. “Let’s see, the main characteristic of phenobarbital overdose is a slowing of bodily functions, including decreased consciousness (even coma).” Her father’s eyes rose to meet hers, which finally left Chase’s to see the confusion washed over her father’s face. “Okay, so, what about it?”
Virginia’s victorious expression took a sudden dive towards a frown. “Isn’t it obvious? Mom’s not waking up, because he’s drugging her with Phenobarbital. Make him leave and everything will go back to how it was before he ever came here.”
The kitchen was silent, until she heard Chase’s weight shift as he leaned forward and lit a cigarette. She tried her best to ignore him. Inside, her anger smoldered. She didn’t have to turn her head to know his gaze was on her. She could feel it, him leaching into her system like a drug.
Her father and Chase exchanged a concerned look.
“Things can never go back to how they were, honey. Some things are just irreversible,” her father said, laying a sympathetic hand over hers. It was the patronizing tone he used that told her what she needed to know.
“You know what … I should have known. Forget it. Pretend …” she waved a hand between the two of them. “Resume your poor Virginia discussion. Because that’s it, right? I’m paranoid?”
She started backing away from the table. Chase pushed up out of his seat. “Gin—”
Virginia turned and ran from the room.
Eight
Virginia enjoyed cooking, but she only cooked when she was upset. Something about rolling her sleeves up and burying herself in a counter full of ingredients was therapeutic. She baked cookies, threw together cakes, rolled out pie crust and patted out meatballs for spaghetti sauce—usually all in the same afternoon. Her mother always said when the kitchen was steaming; a dozen different aromas blending together, that meant something was bothering her girl.
Bending, her hands cover with mittens, Virginia took out a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. She felt his presence without him saying a word. The faucet came on. He washed his hands, picked up the hand towel from the counter and turned, leaning against the cabinet as he watched her. Her pan clunked noisily down on the stove top. She ignored him.
“Your wall is finally clean; it took some serious muscle power to get that shit off.”
“Is that what you came in here for, a thank you?”
“Nah, it’s not necessary.”
She spun around, forgot she was wearing potholders on her hands and glared at him. “Good, because you’re not going to get one since you’re the one who painted those words on there in the first place.”
He came toward her, reached around her stealing a cookie from the pan. Warm chocolate dribbled on his chin as he bit into the cookie. “Delicious,” he murmured close to her lips. His gaze dropped to the potholders between them and he chuckled. “You. Baking. That’s a sight I won’t soon forget. It’s kind of sexy. You’re kind of sexy.”
“It’s not going to work.” She pulled the potholders from her hands, tossed them on the counter, and turned, giving him her back. “Wipe the chocolate from you chin and disappear. You’re not wanted.”
She couldn’t fight off a smile as she heard him shift and she knew he was wiping his chin with a sleeve. Opening a drawer, Virginia took out a knife and started slathering cream cheese icing on her cake. Everywhere she moved Chase came to stand behind her. The knife clunked against the counter top as she glared at him over her right shoulder. “Do you mind? You’re crowding me.”
A corner of his mouth lifted and then his finger was in her icing. She watched in shock as the tip of his finger disappeared into his mouth coming out clean. His hand shot out going for more icing. She slapped his hand, her lips pressed in a hard line. “Don’t eat my icing!”
“Why not? It’s really good. But I wonder…” Before she knew what was happening he’d globed frosting on her lips. He turned her to face him, his head dipped and his tongue flicked out, licking the icing off. He nipped at her bottom lip. “Yeah. I was right. It tastes better on you.”
A shiver ran down her spine. She wiped the remnants of the icing off with the back of her hand, hating he could still cause such a strong reaction in her.
“What can I do to help?” he offered.
She froze, the knife covered with icing pointed straight at Chase’s chest. “You want to help me cook?” His gaze stayed fixated on the knife aimed at him, and the way she used it to enunciate her words. “Why, Chase? Why do you want to help?”
His hand gently stilled the waving knife, and then he was slipping it out of her hands placing it on the counter. “Why don’t we put this down?” Virginia watched in confusion, her brows furrowed. Then Chase took hold of the meaty part of upper arms, his thumbs caressing her skin. His smile was racing-heart-worthy. “It would be nice to be around you, without you yelling at me or blaming me for trying to kill you or your mother. If you’re busy cooking you won’t have time to do either.”
Nine
One thirty a.m. The room was dark; the blinds were drawn so no stray moonlight could find its way in. Blankets were kicked to the foot of the bed. Chase tossed under a thin sheet, his flesh damp with perspiration.
Reds and gold’s flashed behind his eyelids.
The sounds of the carnival echoed in his mind.
Brandon was there in that stupid ball cap of his, grinning. In his right hand was a baseball, which he lightly tossed in front of Chase’s face. “Bet I can knock down more jugs than you.”
“Virginia’s hungry. I thought I’d take her to get something to eat on the way home,” Chase said.
“Man, just buy her a corndog or something.” Brandon swung. Jugs scattered sending a group of nearby girls into giggling fits.
Chase shrugged. “You know how picky she is … says she doesn’t like any of the junk here.”
“Alright,” Brandon picked up another baseball. “Just give me a second and I’ll go tell my parents we’re riding back with you.”
“Um, I was thinking … maybe it could just be Gin and me this time.”
Brandon froze mid swing, his mouth gaping at Chase. “Why?” He dropped the ball back on the counter without ever pitching it. He forgot all about the giggly girls he’d been showing off for. He turned toward Chase, his jaw working under the surface. “Dude, you better not be trying to get with my little sister.” That’s just all kinds of wrong.”
People were starting to stare. Chase said low, “You act like Virginia’s still twelve, Brandon.”
Brandon pressed a palm to his stomach as he chuckle
d. “My parents will never go for it. They’ll make you move out.”
Chase found Virginia waiting right where he left her, by the entrance gate. She stood with her feet crossed, her pocket book held close to her right side as she eyed a couple of young guys a few feet away. Virginia squirmed under their heavy gazes. She looked terrified and anxious, until she saw Chase heading towards her, and then she lit with a smile all the tension in her body seeming to dissipate. She trusted him. He liked that about her.
“Well, what did they say? Can I ride home with you?”
“Yeah, it’s cool.” He slipped his hand in hers and led her toward the exit.
She stumbled to keep up. “Is Brandon coming?”
“Nah, he says he’s going to catch a ride home with your parents.”
“He didn’t put up a fuss?”
“No.”
She put on the brakes, her shoes scratching over dirt. “And my parents said that’s okay, if I go alone with you? I mean it’s always been the three of us.”
He sighed. “Yeah Virginia, I guess they figure I’ve been around you for so long if I was going try to get in your pants, I’d did it already. If it makes you feel better we’ll go back so you can hear it directly from your parents.” He spun around headed toward the inside the gate.
She caught up with him and tugged on his arm until he stopped. “Okay, I believe you.”
He knew exactly where to take her. He’d parked there before, but he wasn’t about to divulged that information since it had been with a different girl. Virginia already knew enough bad stuff about him. In fact, she was the only one he’d ever told certain secrets. Sometimes he regretted telling her about his lousy parents and what had happened. Especially, when he realized his feelings for her were changing, morphing in to something he had never expected. All he knew was he wanted to be with her, really be with her, and to a teenager that was all that mattered.
Tires crushed gravel as they took a long secluded road. Train tracks ran parallel to the road on one side, and on the other side were miles of dense, pitch black woods. No houses, no people, only quiet. Chase killed the engine and nervously glanced over at Virginia. He adjusted the driver’s seat, sliding it back. “Is this place okay?”
“How did you ever find it?” Her hands were settled in her lap. She looked unsure staring out the windshield. Hell, he knew this was too good to be true.
“You want to go? I’ll take you home.” He went to move the seat back up only to be stopped by her touch.
“No. I want to stay?” Virginia practically yelled at him and he smiled. She wanted to be with him. He was shaking inside. He’d done a lot of shit, but he’d never been nervous about any of it like he was with her.
They both sat quietly in the dark car; the only sound was their breathing. He messed with the keys dangling from the ignition while contemplating how to make the move without frightening her. He had never been so freaked out in his entire life. His stomach was tied in knots. He was confident in his skills, but not confident the kiss would live up to her exceptions. He hated to disappoint her.
Then Virginia did something completely out of character: she leaned in and kissed him, accidently bumping her teeth against his. She was horrified, that much was clear on her face as she pulled back and placed a fingertip against her front teeth. She thought she’d done something wrong, but that was the exact moment he realized what he felt was more than infatuation. He was in love with Virginia—his best friend’s little sister. Her parents were the closest thing to real parents he’d ever known. And all he could think about was getting his hands on their daughter. His hand went to her cheeks, a thumb rubbing her soft flushed skin.
“It’s okay, Gin. It’s just me. Relax.”
She turned her face into his touch and lightly kissed his hand. Her eyes gleamed up at him and he couldn’t take it any longer. He had to kiss her. His lips moved over hers, nothing wild and dominating, just a sweet simple kiss. He pulled back and grinned, his fingers playing with a strand of her hair. “Your lips taste like cherry cola chap stick.”
“Sorry.”
“Nah, don’t say you’re sorry, believe me, I like it. You taste exactly like imagined you would.” His lips touched hers again, his tongue slipping into her mouth this time. Fifteen minutes in and their tongues were in sync with each other. It was as if they’d always been meant to kiss. She fit in his arms. The windows fogged as their breathing became heavier. He’d never enjoyed kissing someone so much. The way he was feeling, as if he could combust at any moment, it was too much. His mind was going other places. Sexual places he knew she was nowhere near ready to go. He had to slow things down. Calm his raging lust for this girl. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. “Gin, we need to….”
“You want to get in the back seat?” She whispered against his lips.
He nearly choked. “No. That’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say we need to slow down.”
She appeared hurt, even though she tried to hide it. “Okay.”
“I’m not saying I don’t want to, believe me, I want to, but we shouldn’t.”
“Nobody has to know.”
Oh man. He hadn’t expected that response.
“Your parents are going to wonder where we are.”
“We’ll tell them we got lost.”
He couldn’t keep from smiling. He’d thought he would be the one begging, not the other way around. Something about her having no doubts made him like her even more. He lightly kissed her. “I don’t think your parents will buy it.”
“Probably not, but I don’t want to stop, Chase.”
Stop.
There it was again, the all-important word flashing red in his mind. Stop Chase! Don’t take what’s not yours to have. She’s innocent, too innocent to know she should have boundaries. Brandon will hate you. Her parents will hate you. You will hate yourself. Chase knew he should take her home untouched, but he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.
“Are you sure? Because if we go any further than kissing I don’t think I’ll be able to stop if you change your mind.”
“Good. I don’t want you to stop.”
Chase sat straight up in the bed. He scrubbed both hands over his face and blinked in the dark room, his vision adjusting. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take before he cracked.
Ten
Virginia pushed her cereal around in her bowl. She was nauseated and the tension at the table wasn’t helping. No one said a word. Finally, chair legs scraped over the floor. “I’m out. It’s been nice talking to you all, but I got places to be,” Brandon said sarcastically. “See you later, Vee.”
Her eyes lifted from her soggy cereal to find Brandon tugging at his baseball cap. It had been forever since her brother called her that.
“See you later,” she returned, with a weak smile.
Once Brandon was gone her gaze found Chase’s. He was staring at her, and there was misery in his expression. Good. He didn’t like that for once she was on Brandon’s side. She didn’t care what he liked. He was a cold hearted bastard that she regretted ever falling for. She should have stayed gone. Coming back was a huge mistake.
Her father folded the newspaper in his hands and slapped it down on the table. He slid his chair back. “I’m going to be late for work if I don’t get going. I plan on stopping by the store on my way home this evening, either of you need anything?”
“No thanks,” Chase and Virginia said simultaneously.
One by one the kitchen was empting. If only Chase would leave all would be right in the world. No such luck. Virginia pushed her cereal around in her bowl obviously having no plans of eating it, but it was better than focusing on the guy sitting across the table from her.
Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he lit a cigarette and blew a cloud of heavy smoke between them.
“Why don’t you find some girl to date and move on?” She bit out.
He raised a brow, slouched i
n the kitchen chair in a manner that displayed his arrogance. He watched her for a few moments, really watched her.
“I’m serious, Chase. I want you to leave.”
“I like it here.”
“You enjoy torturing me?”
“I think I’m the one who should be asking that. Do you enjoy torturing me?”
His intense green eyes held hers. Everything about Chase was intense. He also infuriated her.
“Now I see why your parents didn’t want you around,” she said, shoving her chair back from the table. She stood and placed a palm on the table, leaning close enough to drive the message home. “You know what you remind me of? A leech. You latch on and suck the life out of the people around you.”
His body tensed. She could see it. The hurt in his eyes. He snubbed out the cigarette. “Wow. That one stung, Gin.”
“Good. I’m glad.” She turned, carrying her bowl to the sink.
Suddenly he was there behind her, his arms circling around her waist, his chin resting in the curve of her neck. She’d seen her mother standing by the sink washing dishes and her father come up behind her doing the same thing. It was sweet and affectionate. When Chase tightened his arms around her waist it unearthed long suppressed memories.
